Co-Operatives Effect on Italian Regional Labour Market Performance
Title: The research project aims at understanding if and how much alternatives of capitalism can present a positive impact on closing up inequalities.
Abstract: To restrict the scope of the thesis, I plan on using co-operatives as an instrument for proxying alternatives of capitalism, as co-operatives are companies and organizations aiming at satisfying their member’s needs according to the principle of mutuality. In co-operatives, the principal (employer) and the agent (employees) overlap, thus reducing their interests and shirking. In other words, co-operatives are not exclusively in the business of profit-making, because they care about providing their members with jobs, consumer goods and services. Co-operatives represent a valid and reliable instrument for proxy, since they believe in working together for a mutual benefit and their control relies on the members, who bear equal rights and benefits and are treated justly and fairly. These characteristics respond to the six principles of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. It is argued that, regardless of their mission, co-operatives help achieve better economic indicators for the communities at-large in which they operate. This is due to the fact that co operatives are driven by the reproduction of life rather than by that of capital. The profit margin is no longer the horizon, but the improvement of lives is. The underpinning mechanism I would like to exploit is linked to the idea that, as co operatives create a critical mass in regional communities, their values and beliefs become more diffused, thus promoting an improvement in labor market indicators. Indeed, the labor force in regions with a higher presence of co-operatives has a more differentiated labor demand, and – assuming that co-operatives provide better job offers than profit-seeking companies – the labor market presents better equality indicators.
Contact: r.colella@mia.hertie-school.org